By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Spirit Lake-Okoboji tennis players Catherine Straus, Taylor Schneider and Abbie Oleson represented their squad at the Class 1A state singles and doubles tennis tournament played Friday-Saturday, May 27-28 at Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex in Iowa City.

Straus went 2-2 to place fourth in singles. Schneider and Oleson went 0-2 in doubles.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Spirit Lake’s Elsie Parriott tied for 11th place at the Class 2A girls state golf tournament played Thursday-Friday, May 26-27 at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls.

Parriott carded a 27-over-par 171 over the course of the two-day tournament. The senior carded a 90 on the first day, but dropped nine strokes from her first round to move up the leaderboard with her second round of 81.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Harris-Lake Park senior Braydan Perkins wrapped his high school golf career at the Class 1A state golf tournament this past week.

Perkins carded a 46-over-par 188 over the two-day tournament held Monday-Tuesday, May 23-24 in Ames. He was remarkably consistent, shooting a 94 both days at Ames Golf & Country Club.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

The Spirit Lake Park-Okoboji girls soccer team saw its postseason run come to a close with a 10-0 loss to No. 4 Spencer in the semifinals of the Class 2A regional tournament played Tuesday, May 24 in Spencer.

The Tigers scored six goals in the first half and tacked on four more in the second.

By Steve Weisman — Outdoors Editor

The Iowa Great Lakes Fishing Club (IGLFC) brought American Heroes Outdoors and its host Scott St. Sauver  — a retired U. S. Army veteran and now fishing guide in northeast South Dakota — and television crew to the Iowa Great Lakes on May 22-24 to film a future episode for Bally Sports North. The episode will air in 2023 and as a live stream on Waypoint Outdoors TV this fall.

By Bob Jensen — Fishing the Midwest

Fishing season is underway across the Midwest, and it’s been underway for quite a while in other parts of North America. Wherever you might go fishing, there are some differences and some similarities to the fishing in other areas. One of the similarities is the question of lure color.  

Iowa residents can try fishing without buying a license on June 3-5 as part of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) free fishing weekend. All other regulations remain in place.

“A summer of family fun is just a short drive and a fishing pole away,” said Joe Larscheid, chief of the Iowa DNR’s Fisheries Bureau. “You'll be reeling in fish and making new memories in no time!”

In an effort to increase awareness of invasive species and the impact they have on Iowa’s ecosystems and economy, Governor Kim Reynolds recently proclaimed June as Invasive Species Awareness Month in Iowa.

Each year, public and private organizations spend millions of dollars in an effort to control invasive plants, insects, diseases and animal species in Iowa’s woodlands and urban areas.

Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer, thousands of Iowa will be camping and building campfires. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages campers to buy firewood from where they will burn it instead of bringing it from home.

“Moving unseasoned firewood around the state can threaten the health of our forests by spreading insects like emerald ash borer (EAB) that live in firewood,” explains Tivon Feeley, DNR Forest Health forester.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

For the first time in 30 years — and just the third time in school history — Spirit Lake’s boys track team proved to be the best in the state. The Indians showed a flair for the dramatic while taking the Class 2A team title at the 2022 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships held Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21 in Des Moines — walloping runner-up Des Moines Christian by 27.5 points.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Okoboji’s girls track team brought three medals home to Milford following the 2022 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships held Thursday-Friday, May 19-21 at Drake University in Des Moines.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Okoboji senior Caleb Postma etched his name into the history books with his performance at the 2022 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships held Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21 at Drake University in Des Moines. Postma brought a gold medal home to Okoboji after winning the Class 2A boys 400-meter hurdles title Saturday. He finished the race in 54.44 seconds.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Spirit Lake Park’s Mackenzie Kauffman brought home a medal from the 2022 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships held Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21 at Drake University in Des Moines.

The junior sprinter qualified for Saturday’s 200-meter dash finals with a time of 26.36 seconds in the prelims. On Saturday, Kauffman finished in 25.97 seconds to place seventh in Class 3A.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

Harris-Lake Park senior Tyler Jurva earned a medal at the 2022 Iowa High School State Track & Field Championships held Thursday-Saturday, May 19-21 at Drake University in Des Moines.

Jurva entered the meet as the No. 16 seed in the discus with a season-best mark of 136 feet. At state, the senior uncorked the throw of his life, clearing 140 feet, 8 inches on his third toss Friday.

By Matt Heinrichs — Sports Editor

The Spirit Lake-Okoboji girls tennis team qualified for and advanced in the state tournament this past week.

SL-O secured its spot in the state tournament with a 5-1 win over Spencer in the Class 1A regional championship played Tuesday, May 17 in Spencer, and advanced with a 5-0 win over Kuemper Catholic in the first round of the state tournament held Saturday, May 21 in Denison.